(New York) The social movement in the American automobile sector took on a new dimension on Friday, with an increase in affected sites and the announcement of an upcoming visit by President Joe Biden to a strike picket, to try to undermine politeness to Donald Trump.
The Democratic president, who readily describes himself as the primary supporter of American unions, and who had also been invited to make such a gesture, will travel to Michigan on Tuesday on a picket line, as a sign of “solidarity”.
“It’s time for a win-win deal” between automakers and the UAW union, Joe Biden said in a message on X.
The 80-year-old Democrat has already, several times, publicly estimated that manufacturers should pass on their “record profits” to employees.
He had until now planned to devote the next week to a trip to the West. But the opportunity is too good to undermine the politeness of his great rival Donald Trump, who also wants to be the champion of workers and working-class circles.
The former Republican president, favorite in his party’s primary for the 2024 presidential election, has in fact planned to go on a strike picket on Wednesday. And also in Michigan, an electorally key state.
Enough to suddenly politicize a social movement which clearly amplified on Friday.
The strike spread to American car manufacturers General Motors and Stellantis, due to lack of progress in union negotiations, unlike Ford where “real progress” has been made.
Since Friday noon, the 38 spare parts distribution centers of these two manufacturers have been affected.
“We are not going to wait forever to obtain fair contracts from the “Big Three”, nickname of the three major American manufacturers, launched Shawn Fain, president of the powerful union UAW, in a video.
These sites, located in twenty states in the United States, employ around 5,600 UAW members out of the 146,000 working for the three giants in Detroit, Michigan.
The three factories on strike since September 15 will remain on strike, Mr. Fain said. These three sites – one for each of the “Big Three” – employ some 12,700 UAW members.
This is the first strike affecting all three groups at the same time.
“We invite and encourage everyone who supports our cause to join us on the picket lines, friends and family up to the President of the United States,” Mr. Fain said.
At this stage, the economic impact has been limited, but the extension of the movement at Stellantis and GM risks having greater repercussions, because these centers supply garages and dealers with spare parts for vehicles already sold, therefore directly affecting the general public.
And “they generate significant profits, particularly for Stellantis,” noted Mr. Fain on CNBC, adding that the union was considering “many possible actions” for the future.
The strikers each receive $500 a week from the union welfare fund instead of their usual salary.
General Motors, which has 18 additional plants affected, accused UAW leaders of “manipulating the bargaining process for their own gain.” Same accusation from Stellantis who “wonders if they never intended to find an agreement in time”.
Regarding Ford, Shawn Fain noted a “serious desire to reach an agreement” even if “serious problems” persist.
The union is demanding in particular a salary increase of 40% over four years, corresponding to that enjoyed by group leaders over the last four years.
Auto workers in the United States intensified their strike Friday, a move expected to impact Canadian parts producers.
The labor dispute saw United Auto Workers union members expand their walkout to 38 General Motors and Stellantis parts distribution centers in 20 states, adding 5,600 workers to the 13,000 who began strikes last week at three plants assembly of Ford, GM and Stellantis.
“It spreads the pain to a new level,” illustrated Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions.
Adding distribution centers increases the risk of disrupting the supply chain and affecting Canadian parts suppliers, he said.
“As the days go by, spare parts suppliers are becoming more and more inconvenienced, and this gets worse when the spare parts suppliers themselves are smaller. So the smaller second and third tier suppliers will really be hit. »
Canadian companies operating in the United States have already been affected by the strike.
Magna International, based in Aurora, Ontario, notably confirmed that LM Manufacturing, a joint venture it 49% owns, had temporarily laid off about 650 employees because a Ford Bronco plant to which it supplies seats was affected by the strike.
Ford was, however, spared from the extension of the strike in the United States. UAW President Shawn Fain said the union made progress this week in negotiations with the manufacturer.
In Canada, Ford avoided a strike by reaching a tentative agreement with Unifor on Tuesday that members will vote on this weekend. The result of the vote is expected on Sunday.
Unifor national president Lana Payne said the agreement, which should serve as a model for contract negotiations with GM and Stellantis, addressed key issues such as wages, pensions and the transition to electric vehicles.